These hotels are the cat’s meow

Dogs get a lot of love in hotels — room service menus, gourmet treats, even in-room doggie DVDs. Cats, though, have a pet peeve: They aren’t always welcome.

If your BFF is a feline, not a dog, these hotels are the cat’s meow. Some even accept more exotic animals, such as parakeets or iguanas.

Red Lion InnLions are not allowed but your cat is welcome at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. Kitty will get a welcome dried chicken treat from local Whole Life Pet, and bowls for food and water. A $40 per pet, per night fee is added to room rates, which begin at $139 per night. The inn’s resident kitty, “very vocal’’ Norman, will greet you — but not in the afternoon when he lounges around the Side Parlor in his favorite yoga post, savasana. www.redlioninn.com

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Loews Boston HotelLoews Loves Pets campaign kicked off in 2000. Today, the program welcomes VIPS (Very Important Pets) with amenities and TLC. Your cat will get a welcome letter from the GM and can order off a gourmet room service menu prepared by the hotel’s culinary teams, including the “Cat’s Meow,’’ a fresh filet of salmon. Kitty will also get bedding, collars and leashes, litter boxes and litter, litter scoopers, as well as cat-walking routes, pet placemats, water bowls, catnip, and scratch poles. There’s a one-time pet fee of $50 per stay. Double room rates begin at $299 per night. www.loewshotels.com/Boston-Hotel

Captain Jefferds Inn“We actually get more cats than you would think,’’ says Sarah Lindblom, co-owner of this Kennebunkport, Maine, inn. Your kitty will get a play mouse, a catnip ball, and a personalized bowl. The five pet rooms at this inn can also host more exotic animals like birds, and there is no charge for one pet — but if you have two, it’s a $25 charge. Pet rooms begin at $199 per night. www.captainjefferdsinn.com

The Colonnade HotelThe VIPets program at this Boston hotel welcomes cats — at no extra charge. Kitty can curl up in a pet bed and chow from a personalized bowl — the hotel even offers three brands of cat food for the finickiest of cats (Purina Naturals Cat Chow Adult Cat Food, Iams ProActive Health Adult, or Blue Wilderness Food for Cats). Pet walking and pet-sitting services are available, and pet spa treatments can also be booked. Double room rates begin at $299 per night. www.colonnadehotel.com

Common Man Inn & Spa—Handout

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The Common Man Inn & SpaBook one of the pet-friendly, first-floor rooms at this back-to-nature-themed inn in Plymouth, N.H., and you and your cat will have a separate entrance, as well as a private back deck. Kitty will get a pet bed, personalized treats, and a fireplace for a catnap. And CC the lobby cat might make an appearance for a belly rub. The inn has no pet-type restrictions, so pack up the bird, guinea pig, and hamster, too. A $4 housekeeping fee per pet, per night, is added, and up to two pets per room are allowed. Double room rates for the pet-friendly rooms begin at $159 per night. www.thecmaninn.com

The Essex Resort & SpaThis 120-room culinary resort and spa in Essex welcomes pets on the first and third floors of the main inn and in the first floor suites in the Manor Building (48 rooms total). “I can’t recall the last time we saw a gerbil, parakeet, or iguana come through the door, but we would certainly welcome them as long as they were well behaved and appropriately contained,’’ says a hotel spokesman. Pets are given collapsible water bowls at check-in. A pet fee of $45 per night. www.essexresort.com

Kimpton OnyxThe pet policy at all Kimpton hotels is simple — if the pet can fit through the hotel doors, they’re welcome to stay. “We have no size, weight, or breed restrictions and never tack on additional charges,’’ says a hotel spokeswoman.

At the Kimpton Onyx in Boston, there’s a director of pet relations: Rocco, the resident Labradoodle. A welcome board introduces pet guests by name, and an Onyx pet bowl and Boston-themed pet bed will be in the room. Important: Door hangers alert guests and staff that a pet is in the room and wishes to be “undisturbed.’’ Double room rates begin at $229 per night. www.onyxhotel.com